Refrigerator



July 26, 1938. H. F. MacGRATH 2,124,857

REFRIGERATOR Filed Feb. 15, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 July 26, 1938. H. F, MacGRATH 2,124,857

REFRIGERATOR Filed Feb. 15, 1955 2 Sheets-Shet 2 Patented July 26, 1938 v UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE 2,124,857 REFRIGERATOR Harold F. MacGrath, Chicago, Ill.

Application February 15, 1935, Serial No. 6,688

4 Claims. (01. 312-186) My invention relates to an improvement in easily and quickly supported in either open or refrigerator construction, and describes in parclosed position. In the form of construction ticular an inner closure for a refrigerator which shown, my closure is pivoted into vertical posiwill act to prevent a good proportion of the warm tion and then moved vertically to hang the same air ordinarily entering a refrigerator when the upon one of the refrigerator shelves. It ismy door thereof is opened from such entry. object to provide a closure which will remain in It is my object to provide an inner closure witheither extreme position without complicated or in the outer closure of a refrigerator which closes cumbersome apparatus to accomplish this end. off a portion of the space within the refrigerator, It is also desired to provide an inner closure 0 and acts to prevent a circulation of warm air which can be operated without necessitating the into the refrigerator acting to drive cold air application of a strong force in the operation of therefrom. This inner closure is preferably the same. mounted adjacent the flooring of the refrigerator, These and other objects and novel features leaving a single opening at the top of the reof my invention will be more clearly and fully Irigerator through which air will not readily-cirset forth in the followin p ti n d i5 culate. The contents of the refrigerator shelves cla ms.

above the top of the inner closure are readily ac- In the drawings forming a Dari; Of y p fi cessible upon opening the outer door in the usual tion r manner; but goods placed on the shelves to the- Figure 1 is a P p e V O a e e to rear of the inner closure are also readily obtained illustrating a manner in which my inner closure 20 by merely opening the inner closure. Thus the y be positioned, and illustrating i dotted entire inside of the refrigerator is only open to lines the Ope P t on o the closure.

the outer air when it is necessary to insert ar- Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view vertically ticles into, or withdraw articles from, the space through a refrigerator, illustrating the inner to the rear of the inner closure. The action closur in open position. 25

usually known as spilling the cold from the Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view through a rerefrigerator upon the opening of the door thereof frigerator similar to Figure 2, but showing the inis thus to a large extent obviated. ner c osure inpartially closed position. a

By means of my inner closure, it is possible for Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view similar to Figme to provide a refrigerator having a single door ures 2 and 3, illustrating the inner closure in 30 opening, and yet to provide a means of retaining completely closed position. I I

the cold air in the refrigerator when the same is Figure 5 is a perspective detail view of the opened. Accordingly, through the use of my inhinge construction of my inner closure. ner closure, I am able to provide a refrigerator Figure 6 is a sectional detail of an alternative which will operate more economically and retain inner closure. 35 a more uniform low temperature than is possible My refrigerator A comprises a body portion in the refrigerators commonly in use at the presprovided with a food compartment l0 within ent time. which the cooling unit B may be situated. The

It is an y mventlon to Provlde food compartment I0 is provided with a door ll i which will act as a shelf when through which access to the food compartment 40 P posltlon makmg 1t possble for me to I0 is afforded. Within the food compartment Ill vide a shelf extending from the refrigerator for are suspended a Series of shelves '2 l3 and H use during the rearrangement of goods within which may be spaced in any manner desirable the refrigerator, or for supporting articles being In the present rem erat-or A m t t d f inserted into or withdrawn from the refrigerator. 1 th g it B is m e o In preferred form, my inner closure extends from :g f e z i n d fi ii fntmlly the refrigerator substantially flush with the floor g f ggzz fi gi g z 522??? of the refngera'tor and is supported in Such a in the shelf I3 is a drip pan l5 to catch condensamanner that articles may be rested thereupon when the goods are removedfrom the refrigfrom the cmhng The shelf 1S 50 otally mounted at IE to the wall bracket 11.

erator for rearrangement or cleaning of the refrigerator The shelf I4 is suspended between the shelf I3 It is a feature of my invention to provide a and the 11001 is f food mp r nt 10. special hinge construction on my inner closure Each of the shelves are secured by means of rubby means of which the inner closure may be her covered pins l9, or by any other suitable 5 means secured to the side walls 20 of the food compartment 10.

The inner closure C is in the form of a flat tray or shelf 22. The closure C is pivoted in a manner which will be more fully described, to the flooring i8 01' the food compartment I0. When in closed position, the closure C is shown as extending into contact with the shelf [3, thus inclosing the lower portion of the food compartment. In the form illustrated, it may be seen that any food resting upon the floor i8, or the shelf I4, cannot be removed from the refrigerator A without opening the closure C. Anything positioned on the upper shelves l2 or l3, however, may be reached after opening the door ll of the refrigerator without opening the closure C.

By placing articles most often inserted or removed from the refrigerator upon the top shelves I2 and i3, it is obvious that a more uniform temperature can be maintained within the food compartment Ill without as much actuation of the cooling unit B. Furthermore,- as when articles are removed from the shelf l4 or from the floor i8 the closure C is ordinarily not entirely opened, there is less circulation of warm air through the food compartment in than would be the case if the front of the compartment was entirely open.

I provide a means of supporting the closure C extending horizontally through the opening 23 of the food compartment 10, for use in supporting food or articles during the rearrangement of the shelves of the refrigerator, or during the cleaning of the interior of the food compartment. I show, in dotted outlines in Figure 1, the position assumed by the closure when in open position. Figure 2 of the drawings illustrates the construction more in detail.

In Figure 2, the floor I8 is illustrated as being formed with a sheet-like body portion 24 having a downwardly extending edge 25 thereon provided with an inturned flange 26 along the bottom edge thereof. A pair of spaced reinforcing strips 21 are secured along the top surface of the floor i8, and extend down over the forward edge 25 and inturned flange 26, as illustrated. A shoulder 23 is formed in the reinforcing strip 21, against which the lower edge of the closure C may abut when the closure is in open position.

The closure C is in the form of a flat sheet 22 having a, peripheral right angular extending edge 29 entirely about the same, for reinforcing purposes. Reinforcing strips 30 extend over a portion of the outer surface of the sheet 22, and are bent along the adjacent portion of the edge 29. These strips 30 are secured to the sheet 22 in spaced relation to correspond with, and to contact, the reinforcing strips 21 on the floor 18. On the inside of the sheet 22, or on the upper side when the closure C is in open position, I provide reinforcing strips 32 oppositely disposed from the strips 30, so that the sheet 22 is clamped or interposed between the strips 32 and the strips 30. Both the strips 30 and the strips 32 are secured by any suitable means to the sheet 22, as by bolts, or spot welding.

To pivotally connect the closure C to the floor I8, I provide angle members 33 and 34 extending from each strip 21 and 32, respectively, having right angular upstanding sides terminating in a hinge connection. A link 35 connects the hinge connecting portions 36 and 31 of the angle members 33 and 34, providing a double hinge arrangement capable of pivoting at two spaced points. Figure 2- of the drawings illustrates the closure C in open position, in which the reinforcing strip 30 of the sheet 22 of the closure C rests upon the reinforcing strip 21 of the floor l8, with the portion 38 of the reinforcing strips 30 abutting the shoulder 28 on the strip 21. When a weight acts to force down the outer extremity of the closure 0, the link 35 and the shoulder 28 hold the inner end of the closure from upward or inward movement. The closure C can therefore not pivot down below the position shown in Figure 2.

When the closure C is moved into closed position, as shown in Figure 3, the handle 39 is engaged, and the closure pivoted upwardly. The link 35 permits the closure to be raised above the surface of the floor 13, as shown in this figure, and by this means the closure may be hooked over the hook members 40 secured to the shelf 1 3. The hooks 40 are so designed as to engage a flange 42 on the edge 23 at the top of the closure when the same is in closed position, or on the outer edge when the closure is in open position. As shown in Figure 4, when the closure C is in closed position, the flange 42 engages in the hooks 40, and the closure may be dropped down so that the lower edge thereof rests upon, or comes into close proximity with, the floor I, to substantially close the opening between the closure C and the floor I3.

I have shown the closure C as made preferably of the material used in the construction of the interior of the refrigerator, such as sheet metal finished in any suitable manner. Any suitable material could, however, be used. In Figure 6, I have shown the closure as made of a transparent sheet, such as glass 43, which is secured in the place of the sheet 22, and which may operate in a similar manner to the construction described in detail.

In the foregoing description I have spoken of the element l8 as the floor of the food compartment. In actual construction, the element II is in reality the lowermost shelf, which acts to separate the food compartment from the drawer compartment containing food drawers 43. The element I8 is spaced slightly from the walls 20 of the food compartment to permit a limited circulation of air about the drawers 43. The element 13 cooperates with the door C to provide an elongated shelf when the door C is in lowered position, and assists the door Cin preventing a circulation of cold air out of the door opening 23 of the refrigerator when the door i I is opened.

In accordance with the patent statutes, I have described the principles of operation of my refrigerator, and while I have endeavored to set forth the best embodiment thereof, I desire to have it understood that this is only illustrative of a means of carrying out my invention, and that obvious changes may-be made within the scope of the following claims without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. A refrigerator including a body portion, two superimposed shelves therein, a baflle pivotally secured to the lower of said shelves, means for detachably connecting said baiile to the upper of said shelves above said one shelf, and means for pivotally connecting said baflle to said lower shelf, said connecting means including upstanding flanges on said lower shelf and upstanding flanges on said baille adjacent the connecting edges of said lower shelf and battle, and link means pivotally connecting said upstanding flanges.

2. A refrigerator including a body portion, a pair of superimposed shelves therein, a baffle plate, means pivotally connecting said baflie plate to the lowermost of said shelves, said means including a link pivotally connected at one end to said baiile and at the other end to said lowermost shelf at a point spaced from the edge thereof, said lowermost shelf extending beyond said pivotal connecting means to support the adjacent edge of said baflle overlying said shelf when said plate is in one position.

3. A refrigerator including a body portion, a shelf therein, a baflle plate, a second shelf above said first shelf, means pivotally supporting said baiiie plate to said first named shelf, to permit said plate to move from a horizontal position parallel and adjacent said first shelf to a vertical position extending adjacent said second shelf. said means including a link pivotally connecting said baffle plate adjacent one edge thereof and said first named shelf along a line spaced from, but adjacent, one edge of said first named shelf, and stop means on said first named shelf against which the adjacent edge of the baflie plate abuts when said plate is in horizontal position.

4. A refrigerator including a body portion, a shelf therein, a bafile plate, means pivotally connecting one edge of said baflie plate to said shelf at a point spaced from the edge of said shelf and pivotal from horizontal to vertical position, said shelf overlapping said baflle in horizontal position of said baiile, and stop means on said shelf against which an edge of said baille abuts in horizontal position.

HAROLD F. MACGRATH. 

